It Was You
by Notjustanotherperson
Summary: At Rachel's seventh birthday, she makes a close friend, one Kurt Hummel. Many years later, they've drifted apart and she's left to wonder what happened. Will she finally learn the truth about why he left her behind and moved on? Hummelberry friendship.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N The last bit is set before Kurt gave Rachel the makeover in season 1, near the start of the series. Read and review!**

"_Mrs Jones, may I make an announcement please?" Seven year old Rachel asked as she waved her hand in the air enthusiastically. The blonde haired lady raised an eyebrow at the tiny girl before gesturing for her to speak. Practically bouncing to the front of the small classroom, Rachel beamed from ear to ear as she attempted to contain her excitement. Standing beside her teacher, the brunette took a moment to compose herself, taking a deep breath before letting it out through her mouth, much like how she would prepare herself before taking the stage._

"_Good morning, fellow classmates. While I realise that this may be rather in advance, I would like to invite all of you to my birthday party on 18 December at my house-" _

"_And what would we be doing there, dork?" Another brunette cut in, causing the rest of the class to erupt in giggles. Rachel huffed at the rude interuption but refused to let it dampen her mood as she continued, "Actually, Santana, you will all get the privellage of watching me perform Don't Rain on My Parade from Funny Girl, something I've been practicing since I was four." _

"_Freak." She heard someone cough under their breath and looked towards Mrs Jones, sighing as the adult did nothing to reprimand her disrespectful classmates. She decided, for the woman's sake, that she was hard of hearing, if not her dads would lodge a complaint. Scanning the faces before her, Rachel furrowed her brows and pouted her lips as she noticed their bored, uninterested expressions. Why weren't they as excited as she was, especially if they would get to hear her sing? She just couldn't understand. Her dads had always said that watching her perform was their favourite activity and one day, people would kill for the opportunity to see her sing. Wasn't that the case?_

_Feeling a hand on her back giving her a soft push back towards her seat, Rachel was snapped out of her thoughts and started to walk to her desk. Unfortunately, the small girl hadn't seen the small foot sticking out and tripped. Landing on her hands and knees, Rachel glanced up to see a small blonde smirking at her, giving the latina beside her a high five under the table and mouth "freak" at her. _

"_Rachel, are you okay? Do pay more attention to you're surroundings next time." Mrs Jones said as she attempted to help the girl off the floor only to be brushed off. Rachel refused the outstretched hand of her teacher and straightened her clothes before holding her chin high and strutting back to her desk where she sat alone. There was an odd number of students and nobody had wanted to sit with her. Not that she minded, of course, she liked the peacefulness of not having somebody constantly disturbing you. That's what she told herself and her dads, at least._

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><p><em>It was five minutes till her party was due to begin and Rachel flitted about the house in a pink dress with a large bow on it, making sure that every last detail was perfect. Balloons, check. Party hats, check. Food, check. Stage, check. Lights, check. She grinned and bounced in excitement as she waited for the first guest to arrive. Watching their daughter almost vibrating as she stood by the door, the two men tried to convinced her to sit on the couch by the window to wait, only to be sent away with a glare. <em>

_Rachel kept glancing between the clock on the wall and the road, impatiently. It had been ten minutes and nobody had arrived. Not a soul. Where was everybody? Unwilling to be disappointed, Rachel chose to tell herself that they were on their way. She didn't really believe it though._

_Sitting on the fabric couch, Rachel chanced another look at the door. Nobody. It had been close to half an hour and Rachel was close to tears but refused to let them fall as she bit lightly on her trembling bottom lip. "Hey pumpkin, maybe we should just head over to Breadstix. What do you say? We'll order a big cake and you're favourite lasagne?" Hiram Berry said gently, kneeling before the little girl and placing a comforting hand on her thigh. It pained him to see his daughter so crushed, especially after she had spent weeks chattering endlessly about what an incredible party it was going to be and how much she was looking forward to it. Rachel just shook her head and was about to respond when a soft knock on the door interrupted them._

_Hirma patted his daughter's leg once more before opening the door to reveal a small boy with gelled back hair. He was wearing a smart looking suit and was holding a gift wrapped in pink paper. "Hi Mr Berry, I'm Kurt Hummel and I'm here for Rachel's party." The pale boy said confidently with a polite smile. Moving aside, he allowed Kurt to enter the house._

"_Hey Rach, look who's here." Hiram said as he watched the brunette's face light up at the sight of a guest. Jumping up from her place on the couch, she ran and caught Kurt in a tight embrace, squealing happily. "I'm sorry for being late, my mom was busy helping me with my hair. Here this is for you!" Kurt said finally being released from Rachel's grip and handing her the present. _

"_Can I open it now?" Rachel asked uncertainly, looking towards her friend for permission. At the nod of his head, she almost ripped the paper apart. Holding up a gold star pillow, Rachel squealed again and was about to jump on Kurt who took a tentative step back. Luckily, Rachel stopped in front of him and asked, "How did you know I love gold stars?"_

"_Well, I always see you putting them after your name on your worksheets and on your file. Your pencil case has some too so I just assumed you liked them." Kurt said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thank you, Kurt, really." Rachel's words were quiet and filled with sincerity as she grinned at him. _

"_You're welcome."_

_Together, they all moved down into the basement where Rachel put on her best peformance so far. She ran around the stage, holding a microphone as she sang for her audience of three, all watching her with interest. As she finished the song, Rachel panted slightly, feeling the andrenaline rush she always had when she performed on stage as she heard the rousing applause from below. _

"_That was incredible, Rachel!" Kurt yelled as he clapped enthusiastically. "That was amazing! Maybe not as good as Barbara, but if you keep practicing, I'm sure you could be even better." He told her as she walked off the stage, causing her to pause and look at him with wide eyes. "You know Barbara?" _

"_Of course! I love her in Funny Girl, it's my mom's favourite musical and she watches it all the time." Rachel could hardly contain her joy at the thought of having finally found someone who liked Barbara too, often times other children would give her a blank stare before changing the subject and that left her so frustrated. She was sure this was going to be the start of a beautiful friendship. _

_As they dug into the food laid out on the table in the garden, Rachel and Kurt discussed musicals, Broadway, New York and everything inbetween. They were so similar that Rachel was sure they were soulmates. Laughing and chatting, time slipped away from the pair and it was time for Kurt to leave. Before he left, they took a picture together, one of his arms was slung over Rachel's shoulders and their temples were touching as they smiled broadly. _

Rachel sighed as she ran her thumbs over the photograph and the two children's beaming faces. They were friends at some point. What had happened? She tried so hard to recall but all she could remember was going for a holiday over christmas and returning to school only for Kurt to treat her as a stranger. She had approached him several times, trying to make conversation but he always wanted to be left alone. Finally, she had consulted her fathers who explained that Kurt's mother had just passed away and told her to give him some time and be there for him. That time had turned from days to months to years and along the way, they had really become strangers.

Rachel didn't want that. She wanted to be friends, after all, they had done it once, why couldn't they do it again? Even if he didn't remember her, they still had to have a lot in common and Rachel was going to appeal to that and earn his friendship. Picking up her phone, Rachel took a leap of faith.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Kurt?"

"Rachel Berry? Why are you calling me?" Rachel wanted to believe that she had misheard the disdain in his voice.

"Oh, nothing really. I just wanted to know if you'd like to hang out some time? Maybe have lunch together in school?"

"I'm afraid I can't."

"Why?"

"I just can't" Rachel heart sank as the conversation ended. She had hoped that he would give her one more chance and try to look past her diva exterior to see the girl she really was. She sighed. "It was you," Rachel said out loud, "and now it isn't." Her one and only friend, her metaphorical soulmate had changed and moved on, leaving her behind to wonder what had happened.

**A/N Thanks for reading, please review and let me know what you thought! I was also wondering if I should write a second part about Kurt finding the picture.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Thanks for all the amazing reviews! Hope you enjoy!**

"Hey Rachel, what do you say to me giving you a makeover?" Kurt asked casually as he walked beside the small brunette. The girl turned towards him and he couldn't help but notice the way they lit up at the suggestion and her plastered smile became genuine. "Saturday night?" He questioned, watching as Rachel eagerly nodded and Kurt attempted a smile at her enthusiasm, only for it to come out as more of a grimace.

Leaving the girl frozen in her spot in the middle of the hallway, Kurt walked back in the opposite direction towards his locker and moved his fringe out of his eyes. Mission accomplished. Quinn had told him that Rachel needed a makeover and after seeing the especially horrendous outfit she had on, he couldn't agree more. The girl had zilch fashion sense and required an immediate wake up call, one that Kurt was determined to give her. Maybe if she could dress properly, it would distract people from her obnoxious, selfish and bossy personality. It's not like she had her looks going for her anyway. In short, he was doing her a favour.

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><p>Stopping in front of the large wooden door, Kurt took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was regretting ever proposing to spend his Saturday night with the biggest diva in the world, he wasn't sure he would be able to stand her endless chatter about herself. As he raised his hand to the wood, the door swung open to reveal Rachel, a small but sweet smile gracing her lips. Kurt had to admit she looked better when she wasn't trying to blind everyone with her huge grins which flashed her perfect white teeth. He managed a smile of his own this time and they exchanged greetings before he was led into the big house.<p>

Walking into Rachel's room, Kurt examined everything within. He observed the mountain of stuffed animals sitting on the flowery sheets covering Rachel's bed, which were distasteful to say the least, and his eyes flew to the many Broadway posters that hung from the bright yellow walls. He scanned over each one till he reached the Funny Girl poster and he sighed, that had always been his mom's favourite musical.

"Erm...you can sit on the bed if you like." Rachel's voice broke him out of his thoughts and he nodded curtly at her before taking a seat on the bed and laying out his makeover kit. "Should I sit on the chair?" Rachel asked uncertainly as she remained by the doorway. "Of course." Kurt said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. He watched as she bit her lip and hurried towards the chair in front of her vanity, evidently having caught sight of his eye roll.

As Kurt gave Rachel her makeover, he felt his blood pressure steadily rising. Seriously, it was all "I" and "me" with the girl and he fought hard to keep from yelling for her to shut up. After he waxed her eyebrows, reminding her to never wax from above but shape from below, he made his way back behind her only to be stopped by Rachel's uncharacteristically soft voice.

"Kurt, why did you volunteer to give me a new look?" She asked him, turning to look him in the eyes, a vulnerability he had never seen before shining in hers. "One, I'm a sucker for makeovers. Two, you need one to distract from your horrible personality. Most of the time, I find it hard to be in the same room as you, especially this one, which looks like where Strawberry Shortcake and Holly Hobbie come to hook up. You're extremely talented, Rachel, watching you perform is amazing, but sometimes it's hard to appreciate what a good singer you are because all I'm thinking about is shoving a sock into your mouth." He answered, feeling a pang of guilt as he noticed the hurt written in her big eyes as she nodded slowly, lowering her head.

"Well, what kind of makeover did you have in mind?" She asked, looking up at him again. Sitting on her bed, he told her confidently, "We need to broaden your appeal. I want every boy at school to do a double take when you strut past." Leaning against the back of her chair, Kurt watched her wring her hands nervously before she spoke again, "There's really only just one boy I'd like to impress. Can you keep a secret?" Kurt's ears perked up at the promise of gossip and he smirked, immediately telling her he could even though he had already decided to inform Mercedes the moment he left the Berry household.

As he waited for the girl's response, he allowed his eyes to wander and they landed on a small photoframe on Rachel's desk. He stared at the picture, studying the two children. A small girl, definitely Rachel, with a boy with gelled hair and a smart suit. A boy that looked too much like him. Not even hearing Rachel's declaration of love for one Finn Hudson, he was drawn back into the past, a past he had completely forgotten about.

"_Mrs Jones, may I make an announcement please?" A small voice asked with barely contained excitement. Kurt lifted his head from his story book, The Wizard of Oz, and glanced towards the front of the classroom where a small girl was standing. She was dressed in an animal sweater with a matching skirt and her hair was in pigtails. He heard the groans of the two girls sitting in front of him but ignored them as he gave his attention to the speaker. As he listened to the details of the brunette's party, he couldn't help but perk up at the promise of her singing Don't Rain on My Parade. It was easily one of his favourite Broadway tunes and his moms. _

_Hearing Quinn call Rachel a freak, he kicked the back leg of her chair and looked away when she turned around to shoot him a glare. However, that didn't stop her from tripping the poor brunette as she tried to make her way back to her desk and she fell to the floor, landing on her hands and knees. He watched as she brushed off their oblivious teacher and held her chin high as she continued on her way, seemingly unfazed by the fall. He admired the way she always managed to just get up and dust herself off despite the bullying she had to endure everyday from their classmates and he wanted to be her friend. He couldn't wait for 18 December._

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><p>"<em>Kurt, are you sure you want to go that girl's party?" Burt Hummel asked his son for the hundredth time. "Burt, if he wants to go, let him." His wife told him as she slowly gelled her small son's hair down, careful not to get any on his newly bought suit. "Liz, the girl has two fathers!" He said, trying to reason with her. Before Elizabeth could answer, Kurt cut in, "Her name is Rachel, dad, and what's wrong with having two dads?" Burt looked at his wife exasperatedly as she nodded along to Kurt's statement. Moving closer to the hospital bed, he sighed and ran a hand over his balding head. Seeing his son's hopeful look and his wife's pale but stern face, he had no choice but to give in. <em>

"_Mom, can you hurry up? I'm already late." Kurt said as he stared at the clock on the wall and tapping his foot impatiently on the floor of the room. "Kurt, you're mom's sick, don't rush her." Burt reprimanded him slightly._

"_I'm sorry, mom."_

"_It's okay, honey. I'm done, you're good to go! Have fun, baby." Liz said as she mustered up her strength to lean down and kiss Kurt's forehead softly. After recieving the kiss, he hurried to the door of the hospital ward and waited for his father to say goodbye to his mother before he dropped him at Rachel's house._

"_Bye Liz. I love you. Wait for me, okay?" Burt said as he kissed her on the lips and ran a hand over her cold cheek. _

"_Of course. I love you too, now don't keep our son waiting. I'll be right here, don't worry."_

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><p><em>As Kurt stood at the Berry's front door, he knocked softly, holding the gift he had bought specially for Rachel in his hands. When the door opened, he came face to face with a tall man and quickly introduced himself before he was quickly ushered into the house. He had barely made it in when he was caught in a tight hug by the small brunette. He apologised for his tardiness and handed over the present to his friend who asked if she could open it. Smiling at her pure joy, he gave his consent and she tore the wrapping paper apart, revealing a small gold star pillow.<em>

_Afraid he was going to be jumped on by the now beaming girl, he stepped backwards slightly and heaved a sigh of relief when she stopped in front of him and asked how he knew she liked gold stars. Rubbing his neck, he told her about noticing gold stars on her things and received a genuine "thank you" from Rachel._

_As he watched her perform on stage, he couldn't help but be pulled into the song. Sure, she wasn't as good as Barbara, but she definitely had potential and he didn't forget to inform her of that. As they discovered their shared love for Barbara Streisand and Broadway, they forged a bond, laughing and joking together. Kurt couldn't help the immense happiness he felt around her and knew that they had a special connection._

_After the eating, they had taken a picture together and Kurt silently vowed to frame it up. Before heading to Burt's truck, he gave Rachel a hug and squeezed her lightly as he released her. He flashed her a big smile as he got into the truck and waved an enthusiastic goodbye to her, his new best friend. Suddenly, Burt's phone rang and he answered it. Seeing his father's expression change in the mirror, Kurt immediately became concerned and listened intently._

"_What? No, no, no...That can't be. No. She said she would wait for me." Burt pulled over to the side of the road and Kurt asked quietly, "Dad, what's wrong? What happened?" His fathers shoulders shook violently as he sobbed, his face burried in his hands. After a few minutes, he finally composed himself enough to break the news to his son._

"_Kurt, buddy, your mom...she...she's gone." Kurt couldn't believe his ears as he slumped against the car seat. He shook his head as his eyes welled up with tears, clouding his vision. His mom couldn't be gone. He had seen her, talked to her, been kissed by her just a few hours ago. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible. She was supposed to see him grow up, graduate and get married. That's all she ever wanted, she had said so a couple of days ago as he rested beside her on the hospital bed. He shouldn't have left her, he shouldn't have gone to the party. It was a mistake and now he would never get to see her again or recieve another loving hug. He should've stayed with her._

"Kurt? Kurt?" Rachel waved a hand in front of his eyes, studying his distant eyes which were glistening with tears in concern. The boy had suddenly zoned out of their conversation and she didn't even know what had caused it. She watched him as his eyes seemed to refocus and they landed on something behind her before locking onto her brown orbs. Kurt cleared his throat before speaking, his voice shaky and thick with emotion.

"It was you."

He knew this girl. He was her friend, her only friend, and he had left her without any explanation. He knew it had hurt her as he had seen it written on her face every time he had ignored her or refused to acknowledge her after his mom's death and he owed her that. He owed her an explanation, the true reason why he had turned her away just after they had discovered something special.

**A/N Once again thank you so much to all who read and reviewed! I hope you guys liked this and I think there'll be more to come, at least a conversation between Kurt and Rachel. Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N I'm so sorry for taking so long to update, I know this chapter is way overdue! Hope you enjoy!**

"Kurt, what are you talking about? I'm afraid I'm not following." Rachel said, furrowing her brows in confusion at the boy sitting across from her as his eyes seemed to study her intently. Shifting his eyes back towards the photograph sitting on Rachel's table, he took a deep breath, readying himself to give the girl an explanation, one that was long overdue. Yet, he knew that he couldn't jump straight to point, especially after seeing how lost Rachel looked after his seemingly random statement was made.

"Rachel, that picture," he said pointing at it, "that's us, isn't it?" Turning her curious gaze towards the photo, she nodded her head slowly, unsure of where the conversation was headed.

"Y-yeah, we were good friends back then. I always wonder..." Rachel trailed off, looking at the ground as she wrung her hands. Sure she had known the Kurt in the picture but she didn't know the Kurt sitting in front of her now and she wasn't sure how much she should divulge to him in case he used it against her. She didn't want it to spread around the school that she was lonely and desperate for a friend, after all, that would only give others more reason to humiliate her. She learned long ago that any vulnerability shown was an opportunity for others to hurt you.

"What?" He asked, putting his hand over her restless ones to still their nervous movements. He had noticed her discomfort and nervousness and only wanted to make her feel at ease. He didn't like seeing her so afraid of him, as though he might turn around and hurt her in the blink of an eye should she open up to him. That was the opposite of what he had been hoping to achieve.

"I-I always wonder what happened? Was it something I did? Something I said that made us drift apart, that made you so hostile towards me?" Her voice was soft as she spoke honestly, voicing out possibilities that had plagued her for so long. She had thought long and hard about why her only friend had turned her away and it was difficult to come to terms with the fact that she would never know, only left with the countless reasons she had thought of.

"It was never you, Rachel," Kurt told her sincerely. He felt guilty, seeing the girl battle herself with her memory, thinking that she had committed some mistake to drive him off, it wasn't fair to her and it never had been. At his words, Rachel's head shot upwards, curiousity filling her. Was this the chance she had been waiting for? The chance to finally learn the truth?

"Then what?"

"That day...That day, while I was at your party, having the time of my life with you, my mom was seriously ill and when my dad came to pick me up, she-she passed away. I felt like my world had just collapsed. How was I supposed to live without her? And then I felt guilty because in her last moments, she had been alone. I should have been with her and my dad should have been there too, not out fetching me from some party. I blamed myself for that and it wasn't hard to direct some of my anger towards you." Kurt paused to collect his thoughts. He had never spoken to anyone about his mom's death or how he felt about it, not even to his dad, and it wasn't easy to tell somebody he had until a while ago, treated as an enemy and a complete stranger.

When Kurt paused, Rachel couldn't help but ask, "All I wanted was to be there for you, Kurt. Why couldn't you have at least given me that chance?"

"I'm so sorry, Rach, I really am. I tried, I thought that I could put it past us but then you asked me if I wanted to watch Funny Girl with you and I just snapped. It wasn't your fault, it was mine. You must've thought that watching my mom's favourite movie would help me to feel closer to her, but I couldn't. I couldn't do it. It reminded me too much of her and so did you, that made it so difficult for me to be around you without thinking of her and the guilt I felt. It was selfish of me and I regret it but at the time, it was easier to push you away, to forget about you and just move on. It was wrong of me and I can't express how sorry I am." Kurt said shakily, unable to meet the brunette's eyes.

"It's okay, Kurt, I forgive you. I shouldn't have pushed you either, I should've been more understanding. I'm sorry, forgive me?"

"Of course, not that you even have anything to apologize for. Rachel, I want to give this another shot, if your willing. I want us to be friends," Kurt said, silently hoping that the girl would agree. He really wanted to make things right.

"That's all I ever wanted." Rachel told him sincerely as tears started clouding her vision. She had finally found her friend and understood what had happened so many years ago and it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. It had been a question that had remained at the back of her mind all these years when she had been lonely, without a friend in the world, as her thoughts often strayed back to the one time she had. It felt amazing to be free, to have that question answered once and for all and she couldn't stop tears from falling.

Kurt felt the same. All these years, something had been nagging at him, but he didn't know what and now that he knew and had done what needed to be done, he felt lighter. Looking at the beam on Rachel's face, his heart swelled and he couldn't help a genuine smile from forming on his lips. However, nothing could have prepare him for what happened next as he found himself with an armful of Rachel Berry as she launched herself at him and wrapped him in a tight hug. Once he had recovered from his shock, Kurt hugged her back just as enthusiastically and nothing had ever felt better.

**A/N Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you thought. I'm contemplating continuing this with how they build a friendship and support each other but I haven't decided yet so tell me if you want to see more or if you feel the story should end here. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N I'm really sorry for how long it's been since I last updated this! I was having exams but they're over now, meaning I can start writing again. I forsee maybe two or three more chapters to this and I hope you'll stick around. Enjoy!**

_Breathe in._

_Breathe out. _

Rachel kept repeating in her head over and over again as she strutted down the hallway in a tight, short black dress. She could feel roving eyes from all around her and it was hard to ignore the occasional wolf whistle from a passing jock. Kurt had definitely succeeded in getting guys to do a double take but Rachel wasn't sure that she was enjoying the attention for once, after all, there was only one boy she had set her sights on and he was standing just a few feet away. _Finn Hudson, you're about to be swept off your feet._

Keeping her head held high to attempt to put on a show of confidence and a hand on her hip, Rachel walked right past Finn. Rachel slowed her pace to allow the boy some time to react, she was certain she had caught him drooling out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey Rachel?"

_Bingo! _Rachel internally leapt for joy. Phase 1 complete!

"Oh hey Finn, I didn't see you there. Did you want to ask me something?" She asked innocently, turning around and walking back to the dumbstruck boy. This was almost in the bag, she just needed to play it cool.

"Um yeah, I just forgot. I got...distracted." He said slowly, tripping over his words and making Rachel's internal grin grow ever wider. This was actually working!

"Well I'm glad I got your attention, I wanted to know if you wanted to come over on Friday night. As someone who's had long luxurious locks since I was a toddler in the pageant circuit, I figured I could give you some tips on our hair number." Rachel said, careful not to appear overly eager as she proposed the idea. She tried to speak casually and not betray the anxiety and nervousness she felt on the inside. In fact, it was almost embarassing how sweaty her palms were.

"Yeah! That-that'd be great!" Finn exclaimed happily, grinning from ear to ear at the prospect of getting to spend time with Rachel, who looked really, really sexy.

"Great, how's eight o clock?" She asked.

"Eight is terrific. It's terrific." Finn wanted to curse himself at the way he was almost leaping at the chance to hang out with her, his voice exposing how he really felt. After all, coming off as too excited never helped anyone, especially when it came to getting girls. That, he had learned from personal experience. Exhibit A was Quinn Fabray, who he needed to inform of his "plans", but not his real ones, obviously.

"Hey Quinn!" He called as Rachel turned away and walked in the opposite direction. She was doing an internal fist pump and she smiled triumphantly. Suddenly, Kurt appeared beside her and noted the beam on her face.

"So diva? Objective achieved?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Absolutely. Finn's coming over to my place on Friday night! Can you believe it? Finn Hudson!" Rachel squealed animatedly to her newly rediscovered friend.

"Finn Hudson?" He asked, feeling his heart sink. Truly he knew that his chances were Finn were less than slim but still, he hoped he had heard wrongly and that Rachel and him didn't have the same crush. Rebuilding their tentative friendship was already going to be difficult let alone adding a boy into the mix.

"Yeah, isn't that what I just said? I told you I had a crush on him yesterday." Rachel said, turning to face Kurt with an eyebrow raised.

"Uh, right. Rachel, we need to talk." Kurt sighed, pulling Rachel aside and into a deserted classroom. He was going to be honest because that was the only way they were going to be able to work through any hurdles in their relationship, no matter how much it hurt to say. He wasn't going to scheme and sobatage Rachel's opportunity to get the boy she wanted. That wasn't something friends did.

"What's wrong, Kurt?" The small brunette asked the boy in front of her with concern evident in her voice. He was chewing on his lip nervously as he glued his eyes on a random patch of wall behind Rachel. This had been hard enough with his father and Mercedes, two people very close to him and now to tell it to someone who up until the day before had been a stranger to him, it was almost painful. Taking a deep inhale and exhale to calm himself, Kurt decided it was now or never.

"I-I...Please don't tell anyone, but I have a crush on Finn too. I'm gay." Kurt whispered as he refused to meet Rachel's large eyes for fear of the judgement he might see, forgetting that she had two gay dads and would've been raised in a family accepting of homosexuality.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Kurt. I didn't realize. Should I cancel our date or..." Rachel trailed off. She really didn't want to give up her chance with Finn, any opportunity had to be snagged before it disappeared, but if it was what was needed to set things right with Kurt, she'd do it. It might be a bit of an internal struggle between her heart and mind, but she would do it.

"It's alright. It's not like I really stand much of a chance with him but Rachel, I don't want you to get hurt. Finn's in love with Quinn, they're having a baby together. We? We're nothing but distractions and we have to realize that. I'm trying to put this as gently as possible but Rachel, don't kid yourself. This isn't a fairytale romance." Kurt cringed as he heard his own words. Perhaps he could've put it gentler, okay he really could have come to think of it. He saw the hurt and sadness pass over Rachel's features before settling on a look Kurt knew all too well. Great, he had just messed things up, not even a day after their reunion.

"Kid myself? Excuse me, Kurt, but I'm not imagining things. Me and Finn, we have chemistry and it's obvious as daylight that he's at least mildly interested in me. I'm not expecting us to ride off into the sunset, I just want us to get to know each other better. I'm sorry if that upsets you, Kurt, truly I am." Rachel ranted, deflating slightly at the end, stopping herself before she could really get into it. She knew she could go on for hours if allowed but it was time to reign in her over active emotions and view things rationally.

"I'm sorry, Kurt. I shouldn't have blown up like that. I'm not cancelling our date but I won't force you to listen to any details if you don't want to. I'd better go. Bye." Rachel said as she turned and left Kurt standing alone in the hallway, hopelessly calling after her.

**A/N Thanks for reading! I'm sorry for the shortness of the chapter and the fact that it's not very good but hopefully the next one will be longer and better. Reviews are greatly appreciated!**


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